The star-director talks about the selection of Slade Wilson and the casting of Joe Manganiello.

About This Character

Summary

Biography

A character from the DC Comics universe.

An assassin on loan to the highest bidder, Slade Wilson is one of DC’s most lethal human villains.

Also Known As: Deathstroke the Terminator

First Appearance: New Teen Titans (Vol. 1) #2 (Dec. 1980)

Deathstroke is a character from the DC Comics universe.

Deathstroke – also known as Deathstroke the Terminator, or just plain the Terminator – is perhaps the most dangerous super not-quite-villain in the DC universe. He’s definitely a bad guy, but there are plenty worse out there.

Slade Wilson gained his abilities from U.S. Army experiments, which gave him enhanced strength, speed, and durability, as well as a superhuman intellect tuned for lightning-fast tactical calculations. He fell out with his superiors in the military, however, and went freelance, becoming a highly-sought-after assassin, bodyguard, and mercenary soldier.

Over the years, he’s honed his powers with intensive combat training, to the point where he can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Batman and Lady Shiva. His tactical genius lets him punch well above his weight, too, in the super-powered sense. On one occasion, he managed to badly embarrass no less than eight current and former members of the Justice League at once.

His success in the mercenary business has come at a high price, though. When an early job went wrong, one of his two sons was held hostage and viciously mutilated. This led his wife to discover his new career – Wilson lost one eye when she tried to shoot him dead. Later, his other son tried to follow in his father’s footsteps as a super-powered assassin, and was killed by the side effects of his enhancements.

While Wilson makes a living by killing on contract, he isn’t completely amoral, and he operates according to a stringent code of personal honor. He’s not a sadist, and he does his best to avoid harming the innocent, unless the innocent in question is his target. On the other hand, he holds a grudge like no other, as heroes like Nightwing and Green Arrow have found out the hard way.